We had a pretty small group this year, but we had a great time and found some nice rocks.

I picked out a pretty large campsite area since we were expecting a few people that ended up not being able to get there. There was a lot of good conversation between sleep and hunting.

I arrived about 5 minutes before Dan (Danointhenw) and his pal Rick (Scorpion King) drove in. Not much of a nap.

After they set up camp we decided to go explore an area that produced some great wood for some of us before. I was extremely disappointed to see the area either so blown over or picked over (or both) that there were few signs left that it had once been a productive area. Even the jasper outcrops were gone and for the most part, the roads were grown over to almost being untraversable.

Later, back at camp, Matt (Oxenkiller) made a late arrival.

The next day we headed out to my green wood area. Luck seemed to be with us there. Rick came ready to haul some big finds, and he was well rewarded for it.

Dan found some great color variations:

Matt took his home and cleaned them up a bit before taking pics:

The weather was pretty warm but not seasonally hot. It was beautiful in the shade of the trees, where I ended up resting frequently just absorbing the scenery.

The next day the guys wanted to hunt something a little different and we headed off to glass butte, which still has plenty of good rock to go around.

We ended up doing a little climbing for the red and black that seemed to be a favorite with all of us. Matt’s favorite was a chunk with more red than black in it.

I got the prize of the day with a chunk of gold sheen. The swirls are inside the rock – the face is smooth although it looks layered in the pic.

The next day, with everyone else on their way home, I wanted to check out the Camp Creek site so went into Paulina to get gas from the one pump East of Prineville in a lot of miles. I was a little shocked to find it $3.89 per gallon!

I was glad the guys had opted for Glass Butte the day before. The Camp Creek site was hunted out to a point it hurt to see it. There were a few very small pieces of limb cast in one area that was once rich with nice ones. Even those were few and far between. The roads, other than the main one through, are disintegrating, and it was rough maneuvering to my favorite spots out there. Being designated a wilderness area, it’s highly unlikely that those roads will be repaired. So my time there was short and I said a sad farewell to another area that will belong to Oregon’s rockhounding past.

On my way to Hwy 20 I did a little exploring here and there, and picked up a few little, plain agates, but didn’t find any other areas with any concentrations of something exciting. There was one road I traveled for a ways, but it got rough enough that I thought it might be better to explore when I had a tailgater or two with me. I’m a little beyond liking long walkouts any more.

With only a week left here in Nevada, I couldn’t picture leaving without a last trip to my favorite wonderstone sites. Because, ya know, you can never have too many rocks to haul when you move. So on one of the first sunny and actually warm days in months I headed out for a day on the rocks. While my present camera isn’t the best, I did get some pics that will give you an idea of what’s out there.

Part of a good day out.

When I got to the publicized site, I was amazed to see the traffic. The first time I ever went to the location mine was the only rig there. And so it was all that year. This time I just shook my head and passed by all those people at the main site and traveled out further where the rock is colorful, but not the pink and yellow of the one I would go back to later that afternoon. I was out to get some of all of it. And I did.

With just a few days left until I head out for Oregon, and a few strength limitations, I was cautious about picking up the boulders I wanted. If I’d had a jackhammer with me, I could have taken half a hill of beautiful stone. As things were – I picked up only one actually too big to carry stones. The rest were of varying sizes. From 3 fist sized to a few just small stones with nice banding.

At my first stop the stones were pretty vivid.

The second site I visited had the pink and yellow stone that the place is known for.

And of course the boulder. I had fun getting this thing back to the rig. Trust me on that one. I’ve carried heavier, but this was a struggle. It’s pretty thick and I’m turning into a little bit of a whimp. Still – this is the one I HAD to have.

A quick reminder that the Mt. Hood Rock Club’s Rock and Gem Show is just around the corner. If you like rock and gem shows and/or spectacular gemstones, this is one you really don’t want to miss. This club knows how to throw a rock party! Here’s the details: